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As mentioned in an earlier post, Art Deco took its name from a 1925 article by the French architect La Corbusier for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Déccoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in that same year.

Le Corbusier

Charles Watts' Masonic Temple,El Dorado, Arkansas (1924)

Art Deco itself predates La Corbusier's naming of it, with origins as far back as the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, with buildings that are in the Art Deco style in the first quarter of the 20th Century. These include Erich Mendolsohn's Einsteinturn (1921) in Potsdam and Mossehaus in Berlin (1923), Hijman Louis de Jong Tuschinski Theater (1921) in Amsterdam, Raymond Hood's American Radiator Building (1924) in New York, Claud Beelman's Culver Hotel (1924) in Culver City, California and Charles S. Watts' Masonic Temple (1924) in El Dorado, Arkansas.

The Problem With Terminology

Defining Art Deco is not an easy thing to do. Largely contributing to this is the fact that the proponents of Art Deco mostly did not use the name themselves. In fact, it really was not until the 1960's -- long after the era had ended -- that movement was uniformly known by the name Art Deco.
Art Deco architects called themselves by many names, but virtually none of those involved in the movement would themselves have called themselves "Art Deco"architects. This is because Art Deco was accepted as a term only after the movement had ended,

Instead, the proponents of Art Deco called themselves by a confusing mix of names. These can be seen as sub-movements or developments of Art Deco now... but in their day, these distinctions were often unrecognized by those who practiced them.

So what were these various names?

A Movement With Many Names

Some considered themselves an advanced form of the early Art Nouveau movement, a point that still confuses enthusiasts today. Others saw themselves as part of the Jugenstil Movement (which in French is usually translated as "Art Nouveau" but for many German and Dutch architects represented what was becoming Art Deco. Some considered themselves Functionalists (those following Louis Sullivan's precept that "form follows function"). Others such as Bruno Paul called themselves Werkbund architects (for a working union of several German and Belgian architects).

Zigzag ModerneSinclair Building, Fort Worth

Some architects called themselves Zigzag Moderne (due to the zigzags and other geometric shapes in their work). Other architects, influenced by the new archaeological discoveries that they attempted to Egyptian Revival, Mayan Revival or Aztec Revival architects, depending on which of the influences on which they drew. Still others attempted to draw on the heritage of the indigenous cultures of the countries in which they worked. This is the case, for example, with Henri Maclaine-Pont in Indonesia with his Tropical Dutch style or Gilson Gladstone Navarro with the Marajoara Revival in Brazil.

Other Art Deco architects thought of themselves as practitioners of Classic Moderne which became "classic modernists" or simply "modernists." This is because the architects involved in producing Art Deco considered themselves as avant-garde and ultra-modern. Thus several Art Deco architects and artists therefore called themselves "modernists" to describe themselves.

This was also the case with those involved in the Streamline Moderne movement. Many architects in the Streamline Moderne sub-movement within Art Deco. Many of the Streamline Moderne architects openly disliked the work of many of their earlier Art Deco predecessors for being too elaborate.

Nevertheless, these same architects are usually not considered "modernists" today but are still generally seen as part of the Art Deco movement by current estimation. Some argument exists on this but on the whole, the reason for this is that Modernism would eventually become its own movement (itself ill-defined). Modernism is evident in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe or Oscar Niemeyer, none of whom could be considered Art Deco (Streamline Moderne or not). Unlike Art Deco, modernist architects emphasized common principles: form follows function and that materials should come from the sites of the structures (that is, architecture as an organic expression).

Some Art Deco Architects Actually Were Later Modernists

Thus the issue of WHO actually was confused by the architects own self-definition. Those Art Deco architects who called themselves modernist in their own self-definition mostly were not practitioners of what would be seen as modernist today. Contributing further to this terminological confusion is that many of the greatest contributors to Art Deco would actually evolve into what we do call "modernism" today.

Mendelsohn's Einsteinturm, Potsdam

Mendelsohn's Mossehaus, Berlin

For example, Germany's Erich Mendelsohn is generally considered the father of Streamline Moderrne with his creation of the Einstein Tower in Potsdam (1921) and the Mossehaus in Berlin (1923). Yet many modernists considered his later work -- especially Tel Aviv's Weizmann Villa built in 1937 to be among the first modernist building (if not actually the first modernist building). In short, Mendelsohn -- who called himself a member of neither -- was both a major innovator and even creator of both the Art Deco and Modernist movements.

Mendelsohn's Weizmann Villa, Tel AvivNo Longer Art Deco

Similarly, Brazil's premier Art Deco architect Rino Levi would later be a major contributor to the modernist movement later in his career. The same was true for his fellow countryman Raphael Galvão. The German-born Jewish architect Bruno Taut is considered a true transition architect with elements of Art Deco's use of color and geometric shape margin into modernism's emphasis on openness and what Taut called "crystal building." Taut is particularly significant to the internationalization of both movements, though, because as a Jew he was forced to flee Germany and brought his architectural vision with him to Japan and then with great influence to Turkey. There are many other transitional figures as well... these are just a few examples.

So this begs the question, how should we define Art Deco architecture? I will try to give my own definition below.

Art Deco Hallmarks

Art Deco was a comprehensive form, governing style not just in architecture (my interest here) but also in furnishings, glasswork (notably lighting and stained glass windows), silverware and dishes, clothing, painting, graphic design and industrial design for cars, passenger ships, domestic machines and so forth.

In this post, I am only referring to Art Deco in architecture.

That said, despite a common name, the architecture shared a host of common features.

LinearityEmpire State Building, New York

Linearity: Art Deco employs a strong sense of well-defined lines and clean edges. The sharpness of the lines is classic in the works of Albert Kahn with buildings such as Detroit's Fisher Building or of William Lamb with buildings such as the Empire State Building in New York.

Chrysler Building'sZigzag Moderne top

Bold geometric stylization:Art Deco buildings are often marked by repeating geometric designs, especially favoring sharply-angled patterns such as Greek meanders, chevrons, spheres, repeating rectangles and zigzags. In fact, there is a whole subset of the movement called Zigzag Moderne, with William Van Alen's Chrysler Building in New York arguably its most famous example.

Modern (for then) construction material and contrasting colors:Art Deco architecture introduced many materials rarely used in earlier buildings. These include stainless steel, aluminum and chrome for metal features and the use of plastic for decoration. One of the most notable examples of this is Syracuse, New York's Art Deco masterful Niagara-Mohawk Building.

Emphasis of new materialsNiagara-Mohawk Building, Syracuse

Illusion of Pillars: Art Deco buildings generally did not have functional pillars. Instead, many Art Deco buildings gave the illusion of pillars to create repeating patterns. That said, the long, parallel linear forms created by the faux-pillars enhanced the geometric patterns of the buildings.

Illusion of pillarsFar Eastern University, Manila

Stepped FormsFisher Building, Detroit

Stepped or Elongated Pyramid Building Forms:

Stepped FormsKavanaugh Building, Buenos Aires

Art Deco building -- especially skyscrapers and towers -- favored stepped forms or elongated pyramid-like patterns. These steps or pyramid sides, in turn, were intended to enhance the linear geometry of the buildings and to move one's eye upward along the face of the building. Prime examples of the stepped form is evident in such notable Art Deco buildings as New York's Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, in Detroit's Fisher Building, in Buenos Aires' Kavanaugh Building, and in Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning tower.

Stepped FormsCathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh

The stepped forms merge into a near pyramid in Tulsa's Boston Avenue Methodist Church.

Near Pyramid StepsBoston Avenue Methodist Church, Tulsa

Full step pyramids are apparent in other buildings, such as the Boulder County Courthouse in Colorado (seemingly modeled on the Djoser Pyramid in Egypt)

Full Step PyramidBoulder County Courthouse

Contrasting Colors:Art Deco often used the "new" materials of shiny metals and plastics as a bold cold contrast to the stone exteriors. Large use of stained glass (in sunburst or geometric patterns) and inlay work are also common for contrast. Finally, bright pastel paint and plastic is often used for marked contrasting features. This contrast of colors is seen in Albert Anis' Berkely Shores Hotel in Miami Beach.

Berkeley Shores Hotel, Miami Beach

Egyptian TheatrePark City, Utah

Marajoara DecoItahy Building CopacobanaRio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ancient non-Western elements: Art Deco included elements normally absent in Western architecture (considered exotica at the time) such as ancient Mayan, Aztec, Assyrian, Marajoara and Egyptian influences. This can be seen in Stile O. Clements' over-the-top facade of the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles and Thomas W. Lamb's Egyptian Art Deco Pythian Temple in New York City.

Assyrian Columns,Pythian Temple, New York

Mayan Theater, Los AngelesMayan Deco facade

Bas-relief panels:Bas-relief (or shallow-depth sculpture) is a common feature on paneling and other decorative items in much Art Deco. This is particularly apparent at doorways both up the sides and over the top of the main entrance. Art Deco architects also frequently employed bas-relief panels beside windows and in decorative horizontal bands along the walls.

Bas-relief at main entrance of the Bower Bay Water Pollution Control Plant

Floor Tile InlayPierce-Arrow ShowroomBuffalo, New York

Inlay Work: Many Art Deco buildings use inlay work, decorative tiling and mosaics just as their Art
Deco furniture counterparts do. Art Deco buildings often have such inlays on floors, ceilings, elevator doors and details on the external building facades.

Floor InlayEastern Columbia Building, Los Angeles

Mural Work: Murals are a common component of the interior of many Art Deco buildings. The themes typically depict he machine age and advances in technology or the progress in history of the specific city or other location where they are located. Sometimes, the murals combine both themes, as with Winold Reiss' famous mosaic murals at Cincinnati's Union Terminal.

Stepped-out or set-back main facade: Not much to add to this... the main entranceways on Art Deco buildings are usually, well, stepped-out or set-back from the main building.

Stepped-out facadeMarlin Hotel, Miami Beach

There are certainly other features that might be added but this is at least my take on the main features... and I am, after all, just an amateur admirer of the Art Deco movement.

CONCLUSION
In closing, I just want to add that these are the comments of an amateur enthusiast. I do not intend this to be an authoritative exposition. Instead, my hope is that you will join in my enthusiasm for Art Deco architecture. I hope too, perhaps, that I may have encourage you to want to look more on your own.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Art Deco was born in France in the 1920's. Even its name is French, coined by La Corbusier in his article 1925 Expos: Arts Déco for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Déccoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in that same year.

It therefore only makes sense that much of the world's Art Deco architectural masterworks should be found outside of North America. The real surprise probably should have been that, as my earlier post notes, the United States and Canada are by far the richest source of Art Deco buildings. For works in the United States and Canada, please see my post on that subject by clicking here.

Art Deco may have been named by La Corbusier in 1925 in France, but its proponents were from across the globe. Moreover, Art Deco was a worldwide movement, as this list shows. As expected some of the most important works are in Europe.

That said, France, the birthplace of the movement, is not as rich a center of its architecture as many other nations in Europe. French Art Deco architects include Léon Baille (best known for his Belvédère du Rayon Vert in Cerbère), the Russian-born Charlotte Perriand (one of the few women architects of the era, known for the Barbara Hamilton House in Rabouillet and her innovative apartments on Rue Casimir Pinel Apartments in Neuilly-sur Seine), and Auguste Bluysen (best-known for his Casino du Lac at Bagnole-de-l'Orne).

Two other French architects-- Auguste Rendu and Henri Paul Pierre Sajous-- created one of Latin America's best-known Art Deco buildings: the Biarritz Building in Rio de Janeiro. Another Frenchman -- the Polish French sculptor Paul Landowski -- was responsible for another Brazilian Art Deco icon: the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking Rio. Landowski worked with Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa on the largest Art Deco statue in the world.

Rino Levi in his early works contributed several buildings to the Art Deco movement (although he would later become among the most preeminent modernists). Among Levi's most notable Art Deco works are São Paulo's Instituto Sedes Sapientiae, Guarani Building, Higienopolis Building, Niccolau Schlisser Building, Porchat Building and Cine Ipiranga. Levi also was among the first to bring Art Deco further north with his Ufo-Palacio Cinema and Cine Arte-Palacio both in Recife.

Scotland's Archibald Leitch was famous as the designer of British football stadiums, most in the Art Deco style. These include Goodison Park of Everton F.C. in Walton, Crystal Palace F.C.'s Selhurst Park in South Norwood, and his masterpiece of Arsenal Stadium which was home of Highbury North London's Arsenal F.C. until 2006. While some of Arsenal Stadium remains evident, the historic building was repurposed and largely remade as a housing development in that same year.

Other British Art Deco architects include England's premier cinema designer George Coles and Joseph Sunlight (the latter known both as the architect of the so-called Sunlight House in Manchester, but also as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury).

Scotland's Thomas Smith Tait designed St. Andrew's House (the seat of Scotland's government) as well as the pylons of Australia's iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. Other Tait works include Fleet Street's Daily Telegraph Building and Selfridge's Department Store both in London as well as the eponymous Tait Tower in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow.

Arthur Oakley Coltman'sMarket Square Clock Tower, Kuala Lumpur

English architect Arthur Oakley Coltman brought Art Deco to Malaysia, then a colony of the British Empire. Coltman produced a long list of major works including Kuala Lumpur's iconic Market Square Clock Tower. Other works of Coltman's in Kuala Lumpur include the Oriental Building, the Lee Rubber Building (Nan Yi Building), the Odeon Theatre and the Anglo-Oriental Building.

Napier, New Zealand is one of the main centers of Art Deco architecture in the world, and for an unusual twist of fate. Napier was struck by a devastating earthquake in 1931. Because of its near total destruction, New Zealand's architect converged on the city and brought Art Deco there along with them.

Louis Hay's works in Napier include Halsbury Chambers, Hawkes Bay Museum, the National Tobacco Company Building, Anderson & Hansen Motors, the Hildebrandt Building, Parkers Chambers, the Abbots Building and the AMP Building (now home to the New Zealand Wine Center). Hay's Napier Central Fire Station has even been converted into the city's Deco Centre, for preserving its rich Art Deco architectural heritage.

E. A. William's Masson HouseNapier, New Zealand

Just as prolific to the Napier Art Deco reconstruction as Louis Hay was New Zealand's E. A. Williams. Some of his major architectural works in Napier include the Daily Telegraph Building, Daslgety's Building, the Scinde Building, Harston's Music Shop, Masson House, Hawkes Bay Chambers, the Fenwick Building, the Crown Hotel and the Criterion Hotel.

J. T. Watson'sLoo Kee & Co. Building, Napier

Other Art Deco architects from New Zealand also contributed to the Napier Art Deco rebuilding. These include J. T. Mair (designer of the Napier Post Office Building and its Telegraph Exchange), H. Alfred Smith (architect of the Kidsons Building and Smith &
Chambers Trust Building), J. T. Watson (architect of the Napier Municipal Theatre, Thackeray House and the Loo Kee & Company Building) and and Edmund Anscombe (creator of the New Zealand Shipping Company Building and the Union Hotel).

Béla Jánszky and Tibor Szivessy's Uranaia Nemzeti Cinema, Budapest

In Hungary, Art Deco found resistance as Hungarians clung to the Art Nouveau of the now-collapsed Austro-Hungarian Empire. The irony of clinging to Art Nouveau (the NEW art) as a way of holding on to the old is noteworthy. That said, even in this atmosphere, Art Deco surfaced in the work of Béla Jánszky and Tibor Szivessy. The two collaborated on a number of Art Deco buildings in Budapest including the Puskin Cinema, the Urania Nemzeti Cinema, the 82 Radnóti Miklós Street Building and the Kossuth Lajos Secondary School.Other Hungarian Art Deco architects include Béla Hofstätter and Ferenc Domány who collaborated on Budapest's Odeon Lloyd Egyptian Theatre, and Lajos Kozma who designed the Art Deco Kner-Villa.

Another Hungarian architect, László Hudec, was responsible for many Art Deco buildings but not Hungary but in Shanghai. Hudec's works in Shanghai includes the Park Hotel, Paulun Hospital, the Wukang Building (formerly Normandie Apartments) among others.

Tuchinski Theater, Amsterdam

The most famous Art Deco building in the Netherlands is Amsterdam's Tuschinski Theater, among the most beautiful theaters in the world. The architectural genius behind the the building was Hijman Louis de Jong whose life was sadly cut short when he and the man who commissioned it -- Abraham Icek Tuschinski -- were both murdered at Auschwitz by the Nazis for the crime of being Jews (the theater was temporarily renamed "the Tivoli" under the Germans to rid it of its "Jewish name"). When de Jong's Tuschinski Theater opened in 1921, it was one of the earliest examples of what would become Art Deco in its transition from what had been Art Nouveau.

The Dutch architect Jans Bilsen was the architect of Drie Hoefijzers Building in Breda. Also from the Netherlands was Jan Duiker who in his early work produced several Art Deco buildings before his own transition to the sparser New Objectivity (or Nieuwe Zakelijkheid) Movement which he helped

Jan Duiker and Bernard Bijvoet'sZonnestraal Sanatorium, Hilversum

found. These include the Cineac Cinema in Amsterdam and, in collaboration with Bernard Bijvoet, the Zonnestraal Sanatorium in Hilversum.

Albert Aalbers' Savoy Homann Hotel,Bandung, Indonesia

Also from the Netherlands came Albert Aalbers, Henri Maclaine-Pont and Wolff Schoemaker who together transformed Bandung, Indonesia (then part of the Dutch East Indies) into an Art Deco highpoint. Aalbers' work in Baudung includes the Savoy Homann Hotel, DENIS Bank and (south of Bandung at Garut) the Grand Hotel Ngamplang.

Henri Maclaine-Pont (Dutch despite the rather un-Dutch name) was a major proponent of blending local culture into Art Deco architectural styles. This is exemplified by his so-called "Tropical Dutch" buildings on the campus of ITB (Bandung Technical Institute). Maclaine-Pont intentionally used local materials and indigenous roof design mixed with the "ultimate bungalow" villas of the San Francisco architects Julia Morgan and Bernard Maybeck to created an Art Deco, Javanese bungalow for non-residential use.

Schoemaker's Preanger Hotel is classic Art Deco while his Pasteur Institute of Indonesia begins to bring elements of local Javanese art and building design into a still primarily Art Deco building. It is with his masterwork --Villa Isola -- that Schoemaker fully combined Art Deco with Indonesian influences. This Indonesian influence is evident in many areas from small ornamentation to the roof design mimicking Sumatran local roofs. Most notably, the structure of the building and layout of the gardens contain both the the circular forms of Art Deco with an intentional echo of the ancient Candi temples in the eastern half of the island. Schoemaker's Villa Isola is often noted as the premier example of Indonesian Art Deco.

Juan Nakpil's Quezon HallUniversity of the Philippines, Manila

Juan Nakpil -- called the "Father of Philippine Architecture" --was the premier Filipino architect of the Art Deco period. His works include the Rizal Shrine at Intramuros, the Captain Pepe Building and Capital Theater in Manila, and his Art Deco masterpiece Quezon Hall Administration Building at the University of the Philippines.

Other Art Deco architects from outside North America include Viktor Sulčič, Giuseppe Pettazzi, and Michel Polak. Argentina's Art Deco heritage is largely the work of the Slovenian-born Viktor Sulčič, creator of La

Giuseppe Pettazzi'sFIAT-Tagliero stationAsmara, Eritrea

Bombonera Stadium and the Abasto mall. Pettazzi was the leading architect responsible for converting the then-Italian colony of Eritrea into an Art Deco center. His FIAT-Tagliero in Asmara is a classic Art Deco work. Switzerland's Michel Polak was best known for his Europa Building in Brussels.

In Turkey, Art Deco represented the new Kemalist state as opposed to the old Ottoman Empire it replaced. As the new nation's capital moved from the old capital of Istanbul to the new one at Ankara, Art Deco architecture came with it. This is most visible in Şevki Balmumcu's Ankara Opera House and Şekip Akalinis' Central Rail Station in Ankara.

Moreover, many of the most important sites of Art Deco are neither in North America nor Europe, but rather in Asia and the Pacific. Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines are all major centers of Art Deco building. Perhaps the most out-of-the-way center of Art Deco work is in Eritrea, a result of the Italian heritage.

This post attempts to provide what are in my opinion (and that is the sole arbiter here, I am afraid), some of the most notable Art Deco architecture outside the United States (listed in alphabetic order by nation).

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About Me

David A. Victor, Ph.D. is a business professor, author and consultant. He is Director of International Business Programs at the Eastern Michigan University College of Business where he is also a tenured Full Professor of Management. He teaches courses in business communication, business ethics, international business ethics, international business, and international management. Dr Victor’s book International Business Communication (Harper Collins, 1992) was the first book published on the subject in the United States. Dr. Victor is also a business consultant and co-founder of the non-profit organization One Village One World.

More About David Victor's Academic Experience

I teach at the Eastern Michigan University College of Business I am also editor of the Global Advances in Business Communication. http://commons.emich.edu/gabc/

Among other subjects, I teach Managing World Business Communication, Fundamentals of Global Business, international business ethics, international business, Business Ethics/CSR, and International Management as well as a series of "Doing Business In..." seminars for business in specific countries and regions. My course at EMU in Managing World Business Communication first designed and taught nearly 20 years ago was among the first regularly taught on cross-cultural business communication in an AACSB-accredited school.

From 1996-1997, I was President of the Association for Business Communication and helped to establish the European and the Asia/Pacific regions of that organization. In 2010, I was honored to have won the Meada Gibbs Outstanding Teaching Award, an international prize given by the Association for Business Communication. Over the years, I have received 6 grants from a variety of sources including the US Department of Education and the Federal Government of Canada. .

In 1992, I was the first recipient of the Distinguished Visiting Foreign Professorship (Graduate Level) of the InstitutoTecnologico y EstudiosSuperiores de Monterrey. I was also a Visiting Professor at the University of Antwerp in Belgium in 2008 and at the Universidade do Caxias do Sul in Brazil in 2010. I also hold classes for Saint Mary's of California's TransGlobal Executive MBA students.

About David Victor’s Consulting Experience

I have consulted since the mid-1980’s, mostly in the area of international business communication, expatriate relocation and diversity management for a range of clients including school systems, hospital networks and city and state governments as well as a wide range of companies working domestically in the United States as well as in Canada, Mexico, East Asia and Europe. I have consulted and run programs for over 150 companies and organizations, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to the state governments of Idaho, Iowa and Michigan, the American Bar Association and the US Army as well as several city governments and health systems in the US and abroad.